Citigroup influential stepping down

Citigroup Inc. Senior Vice Chairman William Rhodes, who began his career at the company 53 years ago, will step down at the end of April.

Mr. Rhodes, 74, will also leave his role as senior vice chairman of Citibank, the New York-based lender said in a statement today. He will remain a senior adviser reporting to Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit.

Mr. Rhodes served as Citigroup's senior international officer and helped the bank expand into Central and Eastern Europe and China, the company said. The executive, who joined Citigroup in 1957 after graduating from Brown University, headed a committee of international lenders that negotiated debt restructurings for countries including Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.

“Bill is a rare breed of banker, with more than 50 years of experience at Citi,” Citigroup Chairman Richard Parsons said, in the statement.

Mr. Rhodes's departure will allow him more time to spend at the William R. Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance at Brown University, to which he donated $10 million in 2007. He is also a member of the Institute of International Finance's Market Monitoring Group.

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